North Korea scoffed at suggestions that its nuclear weapons programme was a
diplomatic bargaining chip yesterday, declaring its arsenal to be national
treasure that would “never be traded away” for cash or aid.

The fiery rhetoric maintained North Korea’s recent habit of near-daily
reference to nuclear weapons, the resumption of war on the Korean peninsula
or the long-distance annihilation of the United States with ballistic
missiles.

Western diplomats in Beijing said that the statement yesterday appeared to
dash any immediate hope that North Korea was ready to be talked down from a
pitch of belligerence that has left tensions in